At least one person killed as mortar shells hit Afghan capital

Early morning attack is similar to one carried out in November by ISIS affiliate

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  A rocket is launched in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 12, 2020 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Samiulla Hameed/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

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  An Afghan man inspects a damaged house after a mortar shell attack in the capital, Kabul, early on December 12, 2020. At least one person was injured in the attack and another wounded, officials said. AP Photo

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  An Afghan boy holds the remains of a vehicle which was carrying and firing mortar shells in Kabul. The shells were fired from the northern edge of the capital and from a vehicle, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said.AP Photo

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  Residents watch a municipal worker clear a street after multiple rockets were fired in Kabul on December 12, 2020 in the second such attack on the Afghan capital in less than a month. AFP

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  Residents stand along a street near a damaged car windshield after multiple rockets were fired in the Afghan capital Kabul, including from a vehicle. AFP

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  An Afghan man inspects a damaged house after a mortar shell attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP Photo

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  Afghan security personnel inspect a damaged shop after a mortar shell attack in Kabul. AP Photo

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  Municipal workers clear a windscreen and other debris from a street in Kabul after multiple rockets were fired in the Afghan capital. AFP

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  Onlookers watch a municipal worker remove debris from a street after multiple rockets were fired in the Afghan capital Kabul on December 12, 2020. AFP

An early morning barrage of mortar shells slammed into the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing at least one civilian and wounding a second.

Officials said the rockets were fired from the northern edge of the city and mostly landed in eastern areas.

"This morning, 10 rockets were fired from the Labe Jar neighbourhood of Kabul," interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told reporters.

He said three rockets landed near Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport and seven in residential areas, leaving one civilian dead and two wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and the Taliban insurgent group denied any involvement. Afghanistan’s ISIS affiliate has carried out similar attacks in the past, including last month when it claimed credit for firing more than two dozen mortar rounds that killed eight civilians and wounded 31.

Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on his Facebook page on Saturday that he had received a warning from ISIS that it would "transform Kabul into a slaughterhouse for Shiites" if any of the extremist group's militants arrested by government forces were executed.

In recent months, Mr Saleh and his aides have pushed for public trials of "terrorists" arrested in connection with deadly attacks and for those found guilty to be hanged publicly.

ISIS has regularly claimed attacks targeting the minority Shiite Hazara community in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, in a separate statement, the interior ministry said attacks such as Saturday's were aimed at "soft targets".

"The enemies of the people of Afghanistan have intensified the violence," it said.

"But they have failed to capture districts and they have lost in the battlefields, so they have resorted to hitting at soft targets," it said.

Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months, with several deadly attacks carried out in Kabul, despite the Taliban and the government engaging in peace talks since September 12 in Qatar.

Apart from the November rocket attack, ISIS claimed two deadly assaults in Kabul.

Those attacks targeted educational centres in the capital that killed at least 50 people, mostly students, including one on Kabul University that saw gunmen spraying classrooms with bullets.

Authorities blamed the attacks on educational centres on the Haqqani network, an affiliate of the Taliban.

Violence has also surged amid an ongoing withdrawal of US troops.

In November, the Pentagon said it would pull 2,000 troops out of Afghanistan, speeding up the timeline established in a February agreement between Washington and the Taliban that envisions a full withdrawal by May 2021.

The deal also stipulates that the insurgents will not target key cities in the country, although Afghan authorities have blamed them for such attacks.